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Our Very First Show
Our Very First Show is the premiere episode of the series Full House, which aired for the first time on September 22, 1987. Background This is not the actual pilot for the series. The unaired pilot (with basically the same plotline as this episode) was shot with John Posey as Danny – because Bob Saget, the producers' first choice for the role, was unavailable, due to a prior commitment. The pilot is included on the Complete Series and The Complete First Season DVD sets. Synopsis See also: Our Very First Show/Transcript A car crash killed Danny Tanner's wife, Pam, three months earlier, leaving him with the task of raising his three daughters on his own at the Tanner home. His mother, Claire, had been staying with the family to help out, but when she must go back to , he asks his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend Joey Gladstone to move in to help him take care of the girls: ten-year-old D.J., five-year-old Stephanie, and one-year-old Michelle. Joey and Jesse's first day includes that harrowing rite of passage: changing a diaper. Since Joey and Jesse do not know a thing about taking care of a baby, they struggle in their efforts to take care of Danny's youngest, Michelle. The other girls have a difficult time adjusting to the living arrangements. D.J. is frustrated that she has to share her room with Stephanie since Stephanie's old room is now going to be occupied by Jesse. Stephanie, on the other hand, is elated (see Quotes). Jesse then enters and the girls are happy to see him. He asks D.J. about her incoming tooth, which she says hasn't happened yet, but he reminds her it's one less tooth to brush for the time being. He then tells Danny about his exciting gig at The Smash Club, his trip to , and his encounter with Vanessa, a showgirl. Stephanie gets him to play "ballerina", and he initially refuses, but gives in after her "crying routine". A few seconds later, Joey makes his entrance, and is glad to see Jesse and Danny, the latter showing him his "room": the alcove. He is excited about the move-in because he says that it occurred on the exact same day he ran out of clean clothes, and is excited that a washing machine is there, so he can do his laundry. Upstairs, Danny shows Jesse his room, but Jesse is shocked by the presence of pink bunnies on the wallpaper (because it was Stephanie's room before, see Quotes). But he tells Danny that Pam was his big sister and he loved her very much, and he loves the girls, so he is happy to be there for them. When he goes to hang his clothes up in the closet, he's shocked at the arrangement of the racks and wonders how he'll do that (see Quotes). In the bedroom across the hall, D.J. makes the most of sharing it with her younger sister. According to her, as the older sister, that means that she is the boss, and thus, makes the rules; for good measure, she makes two rules for Stephanie to follow (and suggests that she take notes so she can remember): one, never touch her stuff (thus ruining any chances of Stephanie wearing her clothes); and two, never set foot on her side of the room. To distinguish whose side is whose, and as she explains the rules to her younger sister/new roommate, D.J. uses crime scene-like tape going from the window to an easel and clips the other end to the easel. Stephanie wonders how she can get out of the room, and D.J. suggests jumping out the window and climbing down the tree. Stephanie does not think this is a good idea, so she tries another idea by climbing across the curtain rod, which unfortunately leads to D.J.'s side, causing D.J. to open the curtains to reveal said window and send Stephanie back to her side of the room where she belongs. When Joey and Danny come in, they assure her D.J. will be just fine, and even offer Stephanie a piggy-back ride. In Michelle's room, she continually cries. They figure that she needs to be changed. And that's something they have no experience doing. They take her downstairs to the kitchen to do it (see Quotes). They think of putting her in a pot at first, but Jesse says to put a meat rack in first. After changing out the old diaper, they can't find the pack of new diapers! So, they get creative by using a fan to dry Michelle's bottom after the change, wrapping her up in a paper towel roll, and even putting her in a plastic produce bag. Then Stephanie brings out the pack of diapers (see video above). Later that night, Jesse and Joey are exhausted, as the living room is filled with dirty baby clothes and other stuff, a sign of the mess made during the "diaper change" and "feeding" fiascos. When Danny comes home, he can't believe what he sees (see Quotes). Then, after her flight to the Philippines with gets canceled, Vanessa comes in and she and Jesse head off to find some time alone. But before they can do so, Stephanie asks Jesse to play "ballerina" again. However, the guys all ask her to play with D.J., but Stephanie says she can't because D.J. moved out. Danny leads everyone upstairs to find the closet and drawers are open and empty... (see Quotes). What they don't know is that D.J. has rebelled against sharing a room with Stephanie by moving into the garage, where the guys find her talking on the phone to her best friend and next-door neighbor Kimmy Gibbler. Danny has to deal with this situation without a clue of how to do so, and when he tries to tell D.J. that the garage is too stuffy and filthy to even make her new room in it, she asks him if he wants fresh air, and he gets some in the form of her opening the garage using its remote control. Jesse tries to buy her off, but it is no use. Joey's impression of , complete with a offer, also does not help. When Michelle starts crying again, this time, it is a hungry cry. Danny asks Joey to go inside and warm up the baby bottle and asks Jesse to stay and talk to D.J. Like Danny, Jesse does not blame her for wanting her own room, but the world is not a perfect place. He mentions that even actor gets a record deal (and he hasn't been able to), and then Vanessa shows up. With Vanessa in the house, he decides to buy D.J. off to get her back in, and it works. The offers alternate: Jesse offers $5, D.J. wants $50, Jesse then doubles his original offer to $10, D.J. goes down to $49 before going back up to $50 (see Quotes). Jesse's final offer is $20, but D.J. goes up to $21, and that's the final offer. Eventually, D.J. changes her mind and moves back into the house. But by the time she is back in, Vanessa is already gone, so Jesse wants the money back. Danny explains that with three girls in the house, Vanessa would be better off sleeping on the couch rather than in Jesse's room for the night, but she did not like that, so she left. Danny then rejects D.J.'s offer of a garage sale, even if she promises to give him 10% of the profits. He also gives her the ultimatum of either her moving back in or all five of them moving into the garage and thus making the rest of the house useless and worthless. After ultimately deciding to move back in, D.J. reveals why she was upset about sharing her room with Stephanie. She did not like things that she loves disappear one by one. It started with the death of her mother, followed by her grandmother moving out, and now the fact that she has to share her room instead of having her own room. Danny and Stephanie comfort her and the family sings "Meet the Flintstones" to Michelle, making her very happy. Guest stars * as Claire Tanner * as Vanessa Quotes Claire leaves, Danny lifts (or tries to lift) the girls' spirits. Danny: Okay! Are we gonna have fun, or what? Hey, hey, hey! Let's see some smiles. Everything is gonna work out super great. Your uncle Jesse's moving in. My best friend Joey is moving in. And you know what? That means you two are gonna get to be roommates. Isn't that exciting? Stephanie: I can wear all D.J.'s clothes! D.J.: Do I have to share my room with her? Danny: Honey, it's gonna be just like having a slumber party. D.J.: Yeah, with only one guest who never leaves! enters... Jesse: Hey, hey, look alive! Uncle Jesse's here! D.J. & Stephanie: Uncle Jesse! Jesse: Uncle Jesse! All right! Hello! D.J., how you doing? That tooth come in yet? D.J.: Nah. Jesse: That's okay. One less to brush. ---- Danny: Nice, huh? Roomy. Not overly masculine? Jesse: Oh golly, it's swell. You know what would look great by the window? Barbie's Dream House. Danny: We've got one. Look, Jesse, I just want you to know that having you and Joey here...really means a lot to me. Just knowing somebody's here who cares about the girls. You know, they're so happy you're here. Oh, God bless you! hugs his brother-in-law. Jesse: You're hugging me in a room with pink bunnies. Danny: I'm sorry. I'm an emotional guy. Jesse: It's all right. Danny: Okay, let's face it. I'm a lean, mean, hugging machine. Jesse: Okay. Danny, listen...Pam was my big sister. And I loved her very much. And I love your kids. And I'm happy to do what I can. hugs him again. Aah, you're hugging me again. Now listen; you and me, we'll sit down. We'll set aside a special time for hugging. But not now. opens the closet, and can't believe the arrangement of the racks. Oh, great. I live in Webster's room. ---- Michelle's room, the guys try to get her to stop crying. Joey: a baby voice Oh, Michelle, little baby-waby. What's the matter? Uncle Jesse, what are we gonna do? Jesse: First, we stop talking like a munchkin. ---- and Joey head downstairs, and as they watch where they're going... Joey & Jesse: Step one, step two, step one, step two, step one, step two, step one, step two. Jesse: Okay, keep her coming they go into the kitchen. Stephanie: Showtime! heads into the kitchen to watch them change Michelle's diaper. ---- the kitchen, Jesse and Joey are changing Michelle's diaper. Jesse: Joey, strip her. All right. Careful, there. You're in control. All right. Slide it off and... how soiled and stinky the diaper is ugh! [Joey grabs a knife, stabs the diaper, quickly puts it in a bowl, and covers it with the lid.] Good thinking, Joey. Keep it fresh. ---- the front room, there is a mess after the diaper changing and feeding fiascos. Danny: Hey guys, how'd it go today with -? Whoa! What happened? What's with all the dirty baby clothes? Joey: I'm sorry, but every time we fed her, she'd drool or dribble or spit up. Jesse: Your baby's a pig. ---- D.J.'s room, all her things are gone and the closet and drawers are open. Danny gives the "Boy, are you gonna get it" look to Jesse and Joey, and they look at each other as if to say "We're in trouble". Danny: You lost my daughter? I went to work for seven hours, and you lost 33 percent of my children? Joey, call the police. Jesse, search the neighborhood. I'm gonna call up D.J.'s friends. Stephanie: And I'll go get D.J. Danny: Stephanie, honey. Stephanie: Yes, daddy? Danny: Sweetheart, do you know where D.J. is? Stephanie: Uh-huh. Danny: Why didn't you say something sooner? Stephanie: Nobody asked me. ---- Jesse: the offer to get D.J. to move back into the house A buck? You went down a buck?! ---- D.J. moves back in, she walks through the living room. Danny: D.J. Jesse: D.J. Whoa... whoa... whoa... whoa... whoa... whoa... Vanessa's gone. Deal's off. I want my money back. Danny: What money? D.J.: The money Uncle Jesse paid me... to move back in. Danny: That's your special way with children? You buy them off? Jesse: It works. Kid, money. pays up. ---- the kitchen... Danny: D.J., honey, I can’t let you have a garage sale. D.J.: What if I give you ten percent of the profits? Danny: D.J., come here. Can’t you just try sharing a room with your sister? refuses to answer. Your mom was always so good at this stuff. I’d come home from work, and everything was always perfect. D.J., how would Mom have handled this? D.J.: She would have caught me before I moved into the garage. Mom knew everything I did before I did it. the verge of tears Danny: What is it, honey? D.J.: It’s just not fair! First, I lose my mom. Then Grandma leaves. And now I even lose my own room? Everything keeps disappearing. Danny: I know exactly how you feel. And I know how much you girls miss your mother – because I miss her too... very much. But you still got me. Stephanie: You got me, too. Danny: You got Michelle, and you have your Uncle Jesse and Joey. D.J., we’re still a family. And now is when we really need to stick together. is silent. D.J., you and I, we go back a long time – ten years. The ten happiest years of my life. So look, it’s up to you. Either you move back inside, or all five of us are moving into the garage. But nothing is gonna break up this team. Trivia *The closing scene of this episode involves Joey, Jesse, Danny, D.J., and Stephanie singing theme song to a fussy Michelle in order to soothe her; 29 years later, in the premiere of Fuller House, the quintet recreate the same scene (a la split-screen) – this time singing to Tommy Jr. (see photo) *Jesse saying, "I live in Webster's room" is a reference to the title character on (which ran on ABC in 1983–1987) *The episode aired on a Tuesday before moving to its usual Friday time slot with the next episode Category:Season 1 Category:Episodes Category:Quotes Category:Season premiere episodes